A small but well-informed concerned citizen attended the Caddo Commission’s proposed $70 million sports complex presentation last night in Oil City.
Caddo assistant administrator Clay Walker and director of communications Krystal Beauchamp represented the Parish administration at the meeting.
Many questions were asked but not answered or fully explained.
Caddo Commissioner Chris Kracman attended and afterwards asked officials to list their top hangups with the sports complex proposition.
Here are the responses:
"Hosston Mayor Kim Jaynes👇
My top 3 hangups are:
Location
Cost and priorities
Ongoing maintenance
Oil City Mayor Cheryl Clifton Driskell 👇
1. That the tax dollars are already allocated to a specific project.
(Now that might be how it works…I’m still learning how the commission money is handled).
I’m not opposed to renewing the tax at all.
2. The location that is being mentioned.
3. Still a lot of what if’s.
4. I forgot to ask, why not combine this project with the pickle ball project. If it’s a whole sports complex then why not include the pickle ball.
Caddo Industrial Ward II Chairman James LaCaz👇
West Shreveport location- this is self-explanatory with a quick drive-through of that area. Many sporting events are held into the evening or at night. That is not an area of Shreveport that I want to be in after dark. Period.
Other failed entertainment, casino income numbers and tourism related activities in Caddo Parish as well as Bossier. (Sciport, aquarium, boardwalk, g-unit.) [As it relates to North Caddo Parish. The numbers at the new swimming pool here in Vivian have fallen off maybe by half. Why in the second year that was also the first full operating year why have the numbers not doubled or tripled instead of falling off?
So we’ve spent all this money for a quality of life activity that’s not being used as much in the first full season?]
There has been no great population shift in a 4 hour (250mile) area of Shreveport. It’s hard for me to believe that building this sort of facility is not going to hurt what Ruston has built or even the locals here privately in North Shreveport like you discussed. I would like to see more data on the facilities that are already in our area to know what capacities they are running at for comps.
For a parish employee to stand up and say well if we don’t do this right now by next year, Bossier parish will have one. I say let Bossier do it and we will still get the benefit in our area. (If you have to pressure me into something, something’s not right.) That would give you a lot of money to clean up Caddo Parish and work on Blight and do things well before you walk off into something that from the outside appearance you’re already in over your head getting started. We think it might could do 250,000 profit, but I see no baseline for any proof of that even being a possibility. Present this as it is going to cost our parish money for the long run. Because the math does not math. $250,000 profit figure, but the actual breakdown shows the place will cost $6 million a year to run while only bringing in $4 million. That leaves a $2 million deficit every single year that taxpayers will have to bail out. The out-of-town consulting firm they hired is giving cities rosy projections that never actually pan out in real life if you checked closely. And generally, a paid consultant is going to put things in a light that you would like to see. Nobody ever bats 1000.
With the same thought. Everyone always screams we want quality jobs. But in their presentation, they say well we may let a third-party do it because we don’t want to have to deal with the staffing issues or the cost of what an employee would cost with benefits. I don’t want any kid in my parish at this facility with someone that might be questionable because of the pay rate.
I am not against growth in Blanchard like many of the other North Caddo folks. If it’s in Blanchard, that gives me easy access to services without having to go all the way into Shreveport I do not see a downside to that, Blanchard has provides quality jobs within a reasonable driving distance of anyone in the North Caddo Parish area.
I am not an if you build it they will come. Like I keep telling Sibbie we need to figure out how to do small things very well before we can wade off into big things or ask for big things.
I do not think that this is a terrible idea to build. But you must go into it knowing that it is going to cost you money. And reason if it is the responsible thing to do. I don’t think it’s a bad idea, but I don’t know if the timing is appropriate. In my rural area there are parents that would probably get a job here, but could not even afford to take their kids here to play in these tournaments.
The question becomes when it passes. What can North Caddo Parish do to get any advantage out of this tax payer funded project.
State Representative Danny McCormick District 1👇
We should either return the money back to the taxpayers or we should spend those dollars at CCC and opening the workers lease facilities at CCC. It’s a very successful program, but they building that houses. Those inmates needs to be refurbished before it can be occupied again. The Caddo Parish Commission could stick to basic services and let the free market capitalist create jobs in Shreveport.
Background on the Sterlington Sports Complex Deficit Origins:
• Misused Funds: Audits by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor and SEC charges revealed that prior leadership misdirected millions intended for utility and sewer updates to fund the construction, operations, and legal fees of the Sterlington Sports Complex.
• Fiscal Emergency: By 2019, the financial strain brought the municipality to the brink of bankruptcy with severe budget shortfalls, triggering state intervention and specialized fiscal administration to stabilize the local government."
Kracman is to be commended for seeking this input and sharing for publication. More comments should be solicited by all commissioners from folks who ask hard questions.
